Lao
history may not have been known to scholars outside of Laos until "the 14th century
when King Fa Ngum, with Khmer backing, succeeded in uniting Laos and much of the
present-day north-eastern Thailand into Lan Xang, the Kingdom of a Million Elephants."1 Yet, the Lao people
themselves have always known the history of Lao people since the beginning of time in
their myth of the "Great Gourd from Heaven." This myth does not only
tell where the Lao people came from, but it also tells of Lao cosmology. It
consists of the world of Thaen, the world of human beings, and the world of celestial
beings called devata. Thaen is the great god in heaven who is the creator
of all, the earth and its inhabitants. Thaen also sends down Khun Bulom, the first
king of the humans. The first myth to be presented tells of how the first king, Khun
Bulom (Lord Bulom) was born to earth, how the earth was troubled because of the gigantic
gourd, and how Khun Bulom requested help from heaven, and how the earth was populated with
humans, animals, plants, jewels, and other things. The story of Khun Bulom himself
could be part of a myth of origin of the Lao people, yet it can also be an example of
heroic narratives or folk epics as well as an example of a historical chronicle. As
almost all Lao people know the name of Lord Bulom and consider him their hero, Lord Bulom
story will be presented under the heading "Lao Folk Epics." The second
myth is similar to the first, with a few detailed variations. The story called Khua
Khao Kad, (The Giant Creeper) tells of how the earth faces great problems with the
growth of the vine or creeper, how the Greatest god, Thaen, sent the first couple of
commoners down to earth to get rid of the creeper, how the couple sacrified their lives to
do so, and how humans must hold an annual ritual to express their gratitude and
greatfulness to the couple. Three versions of the same story are presented
here. Prior to the existence of Khua Khao Kad, is the myth of Phya Khankhaak, the Toad King.2This
myth tells of how human beings revolt and fight against Thaen, the great god, as he
refuses to send rain to earth. After the victory of Phya Khankhaak, the Toad King,
human beings could travel to heaven to learn magical knowledge. Later, they misuse
the magic and kill each other until a great pile of corpses grew to be a giant creeper
that blocks the sun and troubles the humans. In Phya Khankhaak, the
Toad King myth, the Toad King himself shoots up an arrow to destroy the creeper,
sacrificing his own life to do so. Lao Phuan3
is an important group of people in Laos, thus it is appropriate to present here a myth of
origin by the Lao Phuan called The Four Marvelous Brothers. The
Mekong River is important to the livelihood of the Lao, Thai, and other peoples living
along the river. It is well-known that it is the river of 2600 miles flowing from
Tsinghai (China), South and Southeast Asia down to the China sea in South
Vietnam. The Lao people has a myth to explain its origin as a part of a
Thai/Lao folk epic in verse, Phadaeng Nang Ai in the episodes
9-13. The prose version of the story of the origin of the Mekong is the
last myth to be presented here.

Long long ago the earth was covered with dense forest, and one enormous creeper grew out
of the forest and stretched right up to the sky. It had only one gourd hanging from it,
and this gourd was very, very big.

The gods in heaven had a meeting, and decided that the earth should be inhabited, so one
of the gods was sent down with his followers. His name was Khoun Bulom, and he had
two wives, Yommala and Akkai.

There were no men or animals on earth at this time, just gods and some spirits. But
the earth was very dark, because of the huge gourd that blocked out the light from
the sun. Khoun Bulom sent a messenger to the Great God of heaven asking for help.
The Great God, Pra In, ordered some other gods to come down to the earth to cut away the
creeper and to make holes in the gourd too. As soon as they cut away the huge
creeper, sunlight shone all over the earth, and it became a very bright, very pleasant
place indeed.

But making holes in the gourd was very difficult task. At first the god used a
pointed iron bar that they first heated in the fire. And once they made the
hole many human beings started to crawl out from the centre of the gourd. But the
hole was quite small and the human beings found it difficult to squeeze through. The
gods saw this so they made another hole, this time with an axe. This axe made a big clean
hole in the side of the gourd, and it was not difficult for them to get out. They
were whiter than those who came out first, because the first human beings had to push
their way out through the tiny, dark, sooty hole that the iron bar had burnt in the
side of the gourd. But all of them came from the same place. Those who came
first were the big brothers and sisters, and those who came next were the younger brothers
and sisters; they were very closely related. The colour of their skin was not a
problem for them at all.

These first human beings are the ancestors of all humanity. From that place they
spread out all over the world. They adapted themselves to the various climates and
natural environments in different places. But the important thing is that they came
out from the same place and were the same human beings, and they truly loved one another
as brothers and sisters.

When all human beings had come out, the gods pierced another hole in the gourd and many
animals came out--elephants, horses, cows and so on, and after them many things came out
for the human beings to use to make life beautiful. Jewels of all kinds, gold and
silver.

Lao people have handed this story down from generation to generation, and it shows how
every tribe is as worthy of honour and as significant as all the others, because we're all
brothers and sisters and come from the same place.

Phya Thaen sent one of his sons named Khun Bulom to be born on the human world. Khun
Bulom gathered all the people and led them to establish a city in a land called "Na Noi Oy Nu" (the present day Laos). The king
ruled the city for a long time but the people were poor. So, they begged Phya Thaen
for help.

Phya Thaen looked over the
city with his divine eyes and saw the giant creeper called Khua
Khao Kad whose vine was huge and long. It crept up from earth to
heaven. The branches and leaves of the creeper were so huge that they blocked the
sunlight which in turn prevented the people from having good crops from their
agriculture. Besides, the vine became paths for the ghosts to come to the human
world.

Seeing this, Phya Thaen sent
an old married couple called Pu Mod and Ya Ngam to the human world. The couple led
the people to make a living for a long time, but everyone was still as poor as ever.
The people came to gather for consultation and unanimously agreed that "the cause of
all the poverty and hardship came from the giant creeper. We must have it cut."

Actually, the cutting of the
giant creeper is very complicated and the cutter would be killed after having cut the
vine. Pu Mod and Ya Ngam realized that they had been sent to earth by Phya Thaen to
help the people. Thus, they felt ready to sacrifice their lives for the well-being
of everyone on earth.

Before attempting to cut the
vine, the couple gave their last word: "After we are dead, if you have meat, you must
send some to me with the crow. If you have fish, you must send some to me with the
vulture." Then, the old couple began cutting the vine days and nights until
they lost all their energy. . . .

Now to express their
gratitude and to thank Pu Mod and Ya Ngam, the people make merit and dedicate it to the
old couple every year.

Historically, "Pu Nhoe
Ya Nhoe" were called Pu Sangkasa and Ya Sangkasi or Phikohn. King FaNgum
nominated this elderly couple to be the ghost of Xiangthong Captial, Lanxang Kingdom, six
years before Buddhism arrived in Laos in 1353.

Based on Muang Thaeng
(Thaen) history and Laichao or the Laichao (presumably in South China) that Maha Ouphalad
Onkeo governed in 1835, it is believed that Pu Nhoe and Ya Nhoe were sent to earth by
God. They arrived on the earth to fulfill the request of Putalok and Putalao who
wished them to cut down the giant creeper whose vine reached the heaven. Its leaves
blocked the sunlight and darkened the earth. This giant creeper called Khua Khao
Kad grew at the Nong Ula close to the village Tasaengsammuen where Putalok and his 29
children and Putalao and his 20 children lived. Then Khun Burom named the village
the capital of Nachao; the capital was renamed Laichew or Laichao in 1272.

After the French conquered
Vietnam in 1885, Muang Thaeng's name was changed to Dien Bienphu. The Words Sibsong
Chutai or Sibsong Chaotai refer to 12 areas, but according to Laichao history; it
was called Sibsong Phuhai.

Pu Nhoe agreed to cut the
creeper, even though he himself would die. He told the people to remember his
sacrifice, by calling his name "Nhoe" all the time. Thus,
the word "Nhoe" appears at the end of most sentences or phrases in Lao.
For example, ma nhoe (come here), non nhoe (go to sleep), kin
nhoe (please eat), and so on.

Pu Nhoe Ya Nhoe became
important to most royal rites in Luang Phrabang. For example in the coronation
ceremony, Pu Nhoe Ya Nhoe would be the first to pour the holy water on the king for
blessings. In the royal cremation, Pu Nhoe Ya Nhoe would lead the
ceremony. In the Lao New Year's celebration, Pu NhoeYa Nhoe joyfully
danced. Even now in the New Year's celebration, manikins of Pu Nhoe Ya Nhoe
lead the procession, dancing. Pu Nhoe Ya Nhoe have become significant parts in
all important ceremonies.

The first time PuNhoe YaNhoe
featured in the New Year's dance was during the reign of King Sakkalin in Wat
Xiengthong. Later, other temples like Wat Kang and Watmanolom adopted the
dance. During King Visoune's reign, the dance was performed on the first day of the
New Year's ceremony at Wat Visoune. The last day of the ceremony, the dance was
performed in Wat Phrakaew. Later, the final dance was performed at Wat That and at
Wat That consecutively and to these days the final dance of Pu Nhoe Ya Nhoe has been
performed at Wat That.

Besides being featured in
the New Year's celebration, there is a worship ceremony for Pu Nhoe Ya Nhoe on the eight
day of the sixth lunar month. In all ceremonies or celebrations, a figure of a
lion always appears dancing behind the manikins of the couple. It is believed that
once Pu Nhoe Ya Nhoe caught the lion in the Himavanta Forest. They raised the lion
as their own adopted son, who also became their guard, as it was the strongest and most
powerful animal. People in Luang Prabang like to name their children using the
word "sing (lion)" as part of the names. That is why, we hear of
the word "sing" in many things and places. People may be named
Singkham (golden lion) or Singkeo (precious lion). One of the towns in
Sipsongphanmali Region was called Muang Sing (City of the Lion). The powerful voice
of the king is called "Singhanaht (like a lion roar)." The royal window is
called "singhabanchon (the lion window)" and the royal bed is called "singhad"
(bed of the lion).

Once upon a time, there was
a childless old couple who lived near the river bank at the foot of a high mountain.
The couple had been poor ever since they had been married. The couple wished
to have children to help them work and to continue their lineage. Other families
near them enjoyed having children around. Those with children could travel here and
there easily. For this poor old couple, they could not enjoy such pleasure.
Even when they got exhausted, they could not afford to stop working. They had to
work to earn their living.

The poor couple consulted
with each other one day: "We should go to ask for blessings from the devata
guarding the high mountain. Perhaps we may have a meritorious child who is diligent
and may be a great help to us in farming. He can look after us when we get sick or
take care of our properties after we have passed on. Then, we can be like others in
our village."

Thus, the couple prepared
flowers, candles, and incense sticks to go ask for a child as their wish. The
two raised their joined hands in a prayer position and together they spoke: "Sathu,
sathu, we are so poor and suffering. May the great devata bestow a great
blessing on us. May we be granted a child of our own."

On the way home, an unusual
incident occurred. It so frightened them that they both turned pale. When they
looked up in the sky, they saw a giant dragon blowing multicolored rays of fire down onto
a bush right in front of them.

The old couple thought,
"There must be something magical happening there." After the dragon
disappeared in the clouds, they rushed to look at the bush. They saw a golden
pumpkin, a silver squash, and black and white grains, shining like diamonds and
jewels. They carefully wrapped those things in a phakhawma, the all purpose
cloth, and returned home.

Once home, the couple did
not know where to properly put those things. "How about putting them in a
corner of the hut?" asked the husband. "Oh, no, they might get
soiled," said the wife. "How about putting them in a jar?" asked the
wife. "Oh, no, they might be too stuffy, " said the husband. Then,
the husband had an idea. "I will weave a bamboo cradle and hang it in the
middle of the room. What do you think, Wife?" The wife agreed,
"That's a good idea. We could put our children in the cradle and rock them back and
forth." The husband then began weaving the cradle. Once it was done, he
hung the cradle in the middle of the room, and said to his wife, "Now we must
take very good care of our children." And so they did; they loved their
"children" as much as their own eyes.

Days and nights went by, the
golden pumpkin, the silver squash, the rice grain, and the sesame seed grew unusually
large and heavy. The old couple could no long lift them. The wife could only
rock the cradle back and forth, taking a very good care of them as if they were their own
children.

Ever since they have been in
possession of the four things, the old man became stronger and more diligent. He
went to work on his farm more regularly. Each day the old man would clear the
entire mountain for farming without feeling tired. Each day he would plant his crops
without the least fatigue. Each day, the old man would see more and more of the lush
squashes, pumpkins, sesame seeds, and rice grains. He could not believe his own
eyes, and each day he would say in awe, "Wow, look at all those
crops. I can't possibly do all that by myself! That is the work of a hundred
strong men."

The old man came to tell his
wife about what he saw. Both of them became amazed and puzzled. That night the
couple had a plan. They went to bed earlier than usual so that they could wake up at
night to watch their "children." Late at night, as the couple were hiding
and watching the cradle, they became astounded and speechless. They saw four
handsome young lads hatching out of the golden pumpkin, the silver squash, the rice grain,
and the sesame seed, carrying farming tools in their hands. The four young men then
left the hut. The couple hurried to hide the shells of the golden pumpkin, the
silver squash, the rice grain, and the sesame seed before tracing the four young men's
track. They wondered what they would be doing in the middle of the night. Once
they reached the farm, they saw the four young men digging the earth, making vegetable
beds, and planting something at great speed. It seemed as if they were using
magic.

As the dawn was approaching
and the roosters began to crow, the four hurriedly walked home. Once home, they
could not find their shells. They began searching for them, but in vain. Then,
they began to discuss and reason. The old couple came out of hiding and said
to them, "My sons, don't feel upset about this. You can live keeping your human
forms and continue living with us. We love you so much." The four young
men replied, "Dear Father, Dear Mother, if you so love us, please allow us to live in
our shells until the proper time has come. We shall turn into complete human beings
on the full moon night of the twelfth lunar month." The old couple listened in
awe. "On that day, you must prepare a tray of flowers, candles, and incense
sticks to present to the shells to pay homage to them on our behalf. Once we are out
of the shells, we could continue doing the same thing on the same day each year.
Then, the shells will become magic and good for healing all kinds of sickness."
After so saying, the four young lads said goodbye and returned to live inside their shells
again.

On the full moon night of
the twelfth lunar month, the old couple followed the young men's instructions. And
the young men continued living and taking care of the couple happily until they reached
the age of eighteen. Then, the sons begged their mother to carry a golden pumpkin, a
silver squash, some rice, and sesame seeds to offer as gifts to the kings of four cities
and ask for hands in marriage of the daughters of those kings. When the king of each
city glanced at the golden pumpkin, the silver squash, the rice, and the sesame seeds,
they became delighted and were more than happy to grant the old woman's request. The
sons then became royal son-in-laws. Each son inherited the part of the kingdom
together with subjects to be under his care. The golden pumpkin prince became Phya
Muang Lum or king of the lowland whose protectorate covered lands along the Ngiew
River. The silver squash prince became Phya Muang Fa, king of the great high
mountains. The black sesame seed prince became Phya Muang Thoeng, king of the
highlands which are Phu Xuang, Phu Saed, and Phu Daedka. The fourth prince became
Phya Sipsong Hou Muang, king of the twelve areas.

Since the four brothers went
to rule the four cities, the shells of the golden pumpkins, the silver squash, the rice
grains, and sesame seeds became mines of gold, silver, gems, and jewels spreading
all over the lands. Thus, their subjects who were commoners could use those precious
things for their ornaments.

When farming season came,
the kings came to help their people work in the fields and farms. Everyone was
helping each other year in and year out until it became a custom for the people to lend
helping hands in farming. Thus, each city became prosperous with graneries filled
with rice, ponds filled with fish, farms filled with pumpkins, squashes, sesame plants,
and rice of all kinds and colrs, the black rice, the red rice, the brown rice.

As time went by, the four
kings led their people to build their cities to be prosperous with contented
subjects. The old couple alternately went to visit their sons' families and
grandchildren. They led the people in the rite of paying homage to the shells of the
pumpkins, squashes, rice, and sesame seeds after the harvest was done on the full moon day
in the twelfth lunar month.

Since then, Lao people from
some areas will hold a merit making ceremony after harvest each year. They believe
that by having such a ceremony, the spirit of their deceased ancestors and relatives will
receive the merit and would be contented and peaceful. The offering units in these
ceremonies often include pumpkins, squashes, sesame seed bags, sticky rice and sesame
seeds, sesame rice chips, rice grains, cooked rice, and popped-rice. When people
fall ill, they would use dried shells of pumpkins, squashes, rice grains, and sesame seeds
to mix with other ingredients to make medicine for healing, as told by the four brothers
in the myth.

The source of the Mekong,
one of the largest rivers in the world, is Kuva Lake, commonly known as Nong Kasae
Segnan. Many years before the Buddhist Era, Nong Kasae was so vast that nobody could
walk around it. It was located on the Tibetan slope which is now Chinese territory,
but during that time it was the property of the Kingdom of Laos. Not far away in
Tibet is the source of another of the world's great rivers. The Yangtze Kiang, believed by
some to be the "Nan" river, referred to below. The lake was surrounded by
a deep forest where tall evergreen trees hid many kinds of wild animals. The lake, covered
with abundant aquatic plants, including different varieties of the lotus, was the home of
fish, crabs, birds, snakes and dragons. It was the playground of king dragons. Lao
people always say that the Mekong originated from Nong Kasae and that the water from the
Mekong and from the Nan River cannot mix in the same bottle, for the bottle will crack or
even burst. The story behind that goes like this:

Once upon a time there lived two dragon kings in Nong Kasae. One was called Souttoranark
and the other was Souvanranark. Each was very powerful and had many thousands of
followers. They became very good friends. Every year they visited and helped one
another in many ways, often exchanging gifts. One day King Soutto and his men went
into a forest to hunt. He was lucky to find big game, an elephant. In spite of its
thin hair, the elephant is one of the largest animals. King Soutto gave a big share
of the meat to his friend. When Souvanranark received the gift, he was delighted and
sent back a message to thank his friend.

One day in the third month,
King Souvanranark and his soldiers went out to hunt along the lake. He was making a
determined effort to find big game such as deer, rhinoceros, elephants or buffaloes, but
they did not have any luck. He could not find anything. Finally he managed to
get a porcupine. He and his people returned to the palace and began to skin and cut
up the animal. Then the king divided the meat into equal parts. Souvan had his men
take Soutto's share to him. Seeing that the skin and the spines of the animal were
beautiful, the king sent some of them along, too. When King Soutto looked at the
amount of meat in comparison with the spines, he though that his friend was unfair.
"How could he possibly do that to me?" he thought. "Only this much meat
from the biggest animal in the world? I can't believe it," he said. He refused
to accept the gift and told his friend's soldiers to return the gift. He also told
them to ask their king to come to see him personally. But before leaving, King
Souvan's soldiers pled, "Your Majesty, this is the meat of a porcupine.
Although its spines are much larger than elephant hair, its body itself is much smaller
than an elephant. That is why we could bring only this much meat."

King Soutto was still very angry and would not listen. Upon their arrival at King
Souvan's palace, the men went straight to report the incident. "Your Majesty,"
they said, "your gift that we delivered has been refused. King Soutto also told
us to ask you to come to see him tomorrow."

King Souvanranark, after hearing that, said, "What has become of my dear friend?
I'm going to find out myself tomorrow. In any case, I don't think he is going
to give up. I don't think he will listen to my explanation. And I don't
think he knows what a porcupine is. He just looked at its spines and thought it was
an animal bigger than an elephant. Why doesn't he see that what I gave was a sincere
gift? Even though it was just a small amount, it was an equal share. I didn't
take advantage of him. Why did he return it to me with anger instead of
thanks?"

At dawn the following morning, King Soutto assembled all his men in the meeting hall
thinking his friend would come. When all his men reported to him, Soutto spoke to them
with a firm voice, "We should be prepared because our friend Souvan has betrayed us.
He did not follow our agreement. He will come to settle the problem with me by
himself. All of you know that a porcupine is a larger animal than an elephant because its
spines are so big and sharp, it must be the largest animal in the world."

After his ministers heard that, they thought they should explain to the king which animal
was larger, but they were afraid of being executed. Instead, they kept quiet
and said, "We are ready to listen to your order, Your Majesty."

At that moment, Souvan and his people appeared. Even though King Soutto was still
angry he gave his friend a warm welcome. But he thought he wouldn't excuse Souvan if
he did not admit that he was guilty. As soon as the meeting opened, Soutto began
speaking, "Dear friend, Souvan, I thought we were really sincere friends and both
would follow our agreement seriously. I don't see how you could betray me."

Souvan denied his friend's accusation of being dishonest. He said that he loved and
trusted his friend. He could swear for his faithfulness. These statements made
Soutto even more furious and he said he could not listen. He invited comments from
the audience.

He asked, "Which of us is selfish or inconsiderate? When I got an elephant, a
smaller animal than a porcupine, I gave my friend an equal share while he gave me only a
small amount of the porcupine meat. That was not fair."

When Soutto finished talking, his soldiers clapped and laughed at King Souvan. When
the noise faded away, Souvan explained again, "Please listen again, my dear friend.
I don't think you have ever seen a porcupine. You cannot judge the size of an
animal by the size of its spines or hair. An elephant is a big animal but its hair
is very thin. Even its eyes are small. The eyes of other animals, such as buffaloes,
cows and horses are larger than an elephant's, but their bodies are smaller. Of
course, a porcupine's spine is larger than the hair of an elephant, but its body is not
much larger than some kinds of birds. Please don't misunderstand. Don't break our
friendship. Please think that I am always your good friend and I also think that you
are always my best friend."

No matter what and how much Souvan tried to explain, Soutto insisted that what his friend
said was not true. He rose from his chair and walked away. Souvan left without
knowing what was going to happen next.

A few days later, Soutto sent a message to Souvan saying that if Souvan was still stubborn
he should prepare for an attack. After reading the message Souvan realized that he
had no choice. He immediately sounded the gong to assemble his men. When they
gathered they discussed how ignorant and inconsiderate Soutto was.

Seven days after the message reached Souvan, Soutto moved his force to Souvan's territory.
All the dragons come with magic power. They moved so fast that they churned
the water until it was muddy. Suddenly, Souvan ordered his soldiers to confront
them, causing a big turmoil. All the Kuva area became cloudy and hazy. The sun
could not be seen for seven days. All the animals, big and small, were afraid.
The birds flew away. The war went on and on, for the two sides were equally
strong. The water became muddier. More and more living beings were dying, and
chaos forced some of the gods living in the heavens to move away. The king of gods
sympathized with the small animals; so he cast a spell with his supernatural power to
threaten the two friends. Finally, they stopped fighting.

The god ordered them to build two rivers to compensate for their deeds. Soutto was
responsible for making the Mekong from the lake to the sea, while Souvan was put in charge
of building the Nan river. The god finally convinced Soutto of the size of a
porcupine and made him understand Souvan. Ever after they were good friends again.
But the waters of the two rivers have not yet forgotten the hatred that led to their
creation.

2. Phya Khankhaak, the Toad King: A Translation
of an Isan Fertility Myth in Verse, translated by Wajuppa Tossa, original
transcription by Phra Ariyanuwat Khemajari, Lewisburg: Bucknell University Press,
1996. The original Isan version of the myth is almost identical to the Lao version
published by the Ministry of Education in Vientiane, Laos in 1970. The differences
are the introductory section by the scribe and the ending of the story. See also
"Notes on the Translation of Phya Khankhaak" pp. 14-23. Click here for summaries of Phya
Khankhaak, the Toad King.

From
Administrative Map of Laos PDR, Vientiane: The National Geographic Department,
1999.

Lao Phuan is a
lowland Lao ethnic group, living in Xiangkhwang region. From the above map,
the Lao Phuan live in the yellow portion in the middle of other important regions like
Vientiane, Special Region Xaisomboun, Luang Phrabang, and Huophan. Xiangkhwang has
been recognized as an important military site for it is situated on the highest mountain
in Laos. All political factions tried to seize this region to gain the upperhand in
battle. Thus, the region itself repeatedly became a battlefield. During the
revolutionary war, over two millions bombs were dropped in the region. The city of
Xiangkhwang itself was almost completely destroyed. Many of the people immigrated to
other regions. After the war was over in 1973, the Xiangkhwang people returned to
settle in the region again. Xiangkhwang has been well-known for its unusually cool
weather with diversity of plants and hot springs as well as its historic site called Thong
Haihin (the Plains of Jars). It is believed that these giantic jars belonged to Thao
Cheuang, the Lao epic hero.

The Lao Phuan people
have suffered the consequences of wars. They had to migrate to other regions several
times since the early eighteenth century. Because of the political turmoils, the
Lao Phuan people sometimes had to pay tax to two kingdoms, the Vientiane and the Annamese
kingdoms. Many of them were relocated and settled in Siam in Sisattanalai, Saraburi,
Ban Chiang (Udonthani).

The Lao Phuan people
are skilled in silk production with various designs especially the matmitilai
(ikat designs) with refined thin silk thread and delicately complex designs.

The Lao Phuan of
Xiangkhwang are friendly and generous hosts as their famous saying goes: one must not let
the guests or visitors leave his/her home without a gift in hand. They are also
known for their gifts of singing and composing love poems called phaya keowkan.

4. "The
Great Gourd of Heaven" is told by Somvavanh Phanmatha in The Great Gourd
Of Heaven : A Selection of the Folk-tales and Stories of Laos. Collected by
Roisin O Boyle and Thavisack Phanmathanh, Vientiane: Vannasin Magazine, The Ministry of
Information and Culture, 1992, pp. 1-3.

5. Souban Louanglad, Khua Khao Kad, The
Giant Creeper, Vientiane: Long phim haeng lad (The Government Printing
Press), 1993. This story is retold by Souban Louanglad who adapted the story told by
Pathoumthong published in Vannasin Magazine in January 1980 . This version is
translated into English by Wajuppa Tossa.

6. Thanongsak Vongsackda, "PhouNheu
and NhaNheu, Grand-parents of Luang Phrabang" Muong Lao, April 1999,
pp. 18-9. This story is much the same as the Khua Khao Kad, the
Giant Creeper, but the names of the old couple are different and that this story is told
and the ritual to thank the old couple is practiced in Luang Phrabang. The story is
published in English. I edited the English translation, changing the spelling
to conform to the Library of Congress's transliteration. PhouNheu NhaNheu
becomes PuNhoe YaNhoe. Other versions of the same stories could be found in
the following:

"Grandfather Sangasa and Grandmother Sangasy" in Legends of the Lao, a
Compilation of Legends and other Folklore of the Lao People, by Xay Kaignavongsa and
Hugh Fincher, [United States] : Geodata Systems, 1993, p. 5.

7. Kongdeuane Nettavongs, The Four
Marvelous Brothers, Vientaine: Longphim haeng lat (The Government Printing
Press), 2000. The story is in Lao, but the author provides a summary in English at
the back of the book. The English version, translated by Wajuppa Tossa,
presented here is a complete translation from the Lao version.

8. Xay Kaignavongsa and Hugh Fincher, Legends
of the Lao: A Compilation of Legends and other Folklore of the Lao People, [U.S.A.]:
Geodata Systems, 1993, pp. 23-26.

In the Creation of the Mekong River story from Phadaeng Nang Ai mentioned in the
text, the king dragons are the Naga Kings. The names of the two naga are
Suttho Naga King and Suwan Naga King.